Page 28 of Cocky Counsel

Fifteen

Ethan

Saturday morning was busier than normal. I found myself rushing to my mom’s after running an extra mile this morning to burn off some of the frustration I was feeling after having sex with Eva in my office last night. Needless to say, I wasn’t complaining about the sex itself—just that I couldn’t seem to control myself whenever she was around, and if I wasn’t lucky, I would end up in the same situation I was in with Cora.

I snuck in the front door, glancing down at my watch to confirm that I was already fifteen minutes late. Mom had put together a brunch this morning for my birthday and informed Garrett and me that we would all be here. Very few people said no to Hattie Roberts and absolutely no one said no to her when she was their mother. Which meant that we were stuck getting together for brunch to celebrate my birthday, even though I had stopped celebrating them years ago. I had kept the tradition alive for my grandma but now that she was gone, I didn’t see why we needed to keep it going.

“Hey, ma,” I said as I walked into the kitchen and bent down to kiss her cheek while she turned the bacon in the skillet. “Sorry I’m late, it’s been a busy morning.”

“Take your seat at the table, the food will be ready soon,” she replied, glancing over her shoulder. “Garrett, grab the kids and have them wash up. We’re eating as a family this morning and I’m not about to serve cold food.”

Garrett mumbled something under his breath before pushing away from the table to go get the kids. Not that it was hard to find them. They were thirteen and fifteen which meant they were likely glued to their phones, sitting on the couch in the living room. I smiled and gave a quick nod to his wife, Angela, before turning around in my seat to look at my mom.

“Can I help with anything?” I offered, feeling bad that she was going through all this work for me.

“Don’t be silly,” she scolded, “I’m not having you help with your birthday brunch.”

I watched as she slid the bacon out of the pan and onto a plate lined with paper towels that she would use to blot the excess grease off them. She set the pan on the back burner and leaned forward slightly to confirm that everything was turned off before bringing the plate of bacon over to the table and setting it with the rest of the food. Everything smelled amazing, but when I looked at my mom as she sat down, I noticed the dark circles under her eyes and wondered if she had been sleeping. After my grandma passed away, she had a hard time and would go days at a time running on only a few hours of sleep.

“Are you feeling okay?” I asked quietly as Garrett walked back into the kitchen with the girls in tow behind him. I smiled at my nieces and didn’t take it personally when all I got in return was a forced smile from Natasha. She probably figured she needed to acknowledge me given that she worked for her dad and me and had recently started slacking with the filing she was supposed to be doing.

“I’m fine,” she said curtly, turning to smile at the girls as she pulled a linen napkin from beside her plate and laid it on her lap. She waited a few minutes for everyone else to do the same before she reached her hands out to her sides to lead us in prayer. I closed my eyes and listened, feeling the cold, limp feel of Natasha’s hand in mine. I chuckled quietly, earning a tight squeeze on my other hand by my mom in response. She finished praying and everyone dropped each other’s hands as they reached for the various dishes spread out on the table. It was quiet as we packed our plates full of food and even quieter as everyone ate.

Brunch flew by and the next thing I knew, I was thanking everyone for the gifts as Garrett and his family rushed off to get to one of the girls’ sporting events. I needed to pay better attention and be more focused, but my mind kept wandering back to Eva. I wanted to reach out to her and talk about what happened last night, but I couldn’t think of the right thing to say. Sorry I keep accidentally fucking you when I’ve said that we should stay away from each other would definitely send the wrong message, though I had no idea at this point what the right message was. She was like a drug—completely forbidden, and I was obsessively addicted.

I thanked my mom for everything and was getting ready to head out when she leaned against the kitchen counter and looked at me. I knew that look. I hated that look. It was the look that said that we were about to have a conversation that I wasn’t going to like. I blew out a breath and sat down at the table, waiting for her to get on with it.

“What’s up, mom?”

“I’m worried about you,” she said quietly, studying me as if I had some horrendous illness written across my face.

“Why would you be worried about me?” I asked, completely clueless.

“You’re acting different lately. I can’t put my finger on it, but something is definitely different about you.”

“Nothing is different mom, I’m just busy with work, like always,” I groaned and leaned back against the wooden chair, waiting for her to give me the lecture about how I work too hard and don’t enjoy life as much as I should.

“This isn’t about you being busy,” her voice trailed off as something suddenly clicked inside of her head. She smiled and touched her hand to her heart. “You’re in love.”

I pulled my head back in shock and looked at her, bewilderment splattered across my face.

“What?!” I exclaimed. “I think you’re more tired than you’re willing to admit because that’s just crazy.” I shook my head and felt myself getting irritated with the smile that was still plastered across her face.

“You can deny it if you want to,” she said, pushing away from the counter as she wagged a finger in the air at me. She moved toward the stove, grabbing the kettle and filled it with water before putting it on the burner. “But I know you better than anyone, and you, my dear, are in love.”

My mind immediately went to Eva, and I started to panic as I thought about how much control she had over me without even trying. She could ask for anything in the world, and I would find a way to give it to her. But to say that I was in love with her was absolutely ridiculous. We had barely known each other for a month if you counted when we first met at the club—which I didn’t because it wasn’t like I was really trying to get to know her as I slid into her in the linen closet. So that left two weeks for how long I had actually known her, and she was out sick for half of one.

As I tried to justify that I couldn’t be feeling anything close to love for her, I thought back to when I was in her apartment, taking care of her while she was sick. That wasn’t love though, that was just being a good boss. Or maybe even a good friend. Hell, it should be that I was just being a good human being who was caring for another person when they needed it. That didn’t mean that I was in love with her… did it?

I stayed silent while my mom tended to the kettle on the stove, trying to process what I felt about Eva. Maybe I liked her more than I was willing to admit, and that’s why I couldn’t stay away from her. It wasn’t because she had some sort of secret magic that she used to put a spell on me, even though that was exactly what it felt like.

“So, I noticed that you have someone new working in Cora’s office,” my mom prodded, turning slightly to look at me over her shoulder. “What happened with Cora?”

“Ugh,” I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. “You don’t want to know.”

“I’m sure I don’t,” she teased and lifted the kettle from the burner. “I take it the new girl is the one who has you acting this way?”

I didn’t have to ask what she meant by this way. It was clear as day in her sing-song tone as she said it.

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